Almost a weeks worth !

It's been quite a busy week, and I have not managed to update the blog at all, so I will do a quick roundup of what has been happening.

Saturday

I spent the morning working at home, tidying up the garden and cutting up some wood. Just after lunch, my parents-in-law popped in for a coffee, which resulted in a mad rush to get ready for hockey! I arrived at the hockey pitch in Cheltenham (only a few minutes late) and we had a good game, but we ended up losing 3-1 after some very dodgy decisions by the umpires!

Sunday

Up early, and as I was going to cut up a tree today, I tried out my new chainsaw in the garden before 8.30 ! I decided that might upset some neighbours, so turned it off again straight away!
A friend of my parents had taken down an apple tree in their garden, and had no way of cutting it up, so my mum had volunteered me for the job- in exchange for the wood- fair deal.
I went round, the chainsaw did its job well, and I half filled our trailer with wood for the fire.
In the afternoon our friends Jon and Tracy came round to try out putting up their new tent in our garden. This test run went ok, and they are all set ready for our camping trip in April.

Monday

Can't remember a thing which went on today!

Tuesday

Got to work today to find Michael, the technician, looking very poorly. He sat at his desk all morning not getting a lot done, so I sent him home at lunchtime. He did not want to go, as he has only recently started working here, but I told him that I didn't want to catch anything, so he had to go!
First aid was needed again today, as a student had accidentally put their arm through a window, causing quite a deep cut to their forearm. I put a dressing on it, and sent her down to hospital, where it was glued back together.
In the evening I went to my St John unit for a training session, and a teacher from a local school came to present me with a cheque for £50, which his students had raised by doing a concert. They had not had any links with us, so that was nice of them.

Wednesday
Michael was still ill, so I was by myself in the office today. We had a demonstration of the SIMS learning gateway- a way of accessing school data over the internet.
After work I went to the staff gym, and did 30 minutes on the treadmill- 10mph for 21 minutes of that, and 5mph for 9 minutes. My first target is to get to the full 30 minutes running at 10mph on the cross country setting.
In the evening I had a church council meeting, to which I was nearly late due to some temporary traffic lights which kept me waiting for almost 10 minutes on red !

Today

This morning I went to an open session at the college hosted by our chaplain, called Prayer Story, where he goes through 12 pieces of art in the conference room, talking about the meaning in them. This series of events is to get outside people to engage with the college, and they have been quite successful so far. As I am a Governor, I was asked to go along, and I found the session very thought provoking.
This evening I have been to a Community First Responder unit leaders meeting. CFRs are members of the public who are trained in Basic Life Support and Automated External Defibrillation, and are volunteers who are on call to the ambulance service to answer emergency calls in their area.
We were shown a new piece of software which can log when CFRs log on and off via text message, and also provide reports, and real time status updates. This is a really good development, and hopefully we will be going live with this soon. I also managed to acquire a new uniform polo shirt!

Cheltenham Races, Radio Control, and a Busy Day

Another early start for the last day of the Cheltenham Festival. Today I will be in Control, working with a GWAS (Great Western Ambulance Service) Controller, dispatching all medical resources around the site. We have 4 foot patrols, a cycle response unit, 10 ambulances and some officers on site for the day.

I set up in control while all of the other medical staff attend the briefing, but 10 minutes in, the first emergency call comes in- a member of staff had fallen in one of the catering areas. I rang down to the medical centre to interrupt the briefing, and ask for an available crew to take the call.

In control we use a clever bit of software called Despatch, which shows the location and status of all units, and logs all call times, and radio comms, and pretty much anything you want! Units who are available are shown in green, busy units are shown as red.

It was very hectic all morning, with many calls, including falls, angina attack, collapse and others, and at one point every resource on the screen was red, and the calls were stacking up!

Around lunchtime, it calmed down a bit, and I managed to get a break for lunch, (goats cheese and spinach tart, with vegetables). Once I returned to control it was fairly steady all afternoon, with only a few really busy periods.

As always, just when we were getting ready to go home, we had a call come in for a collapse near one of the gates. I despatched the nearest foot patrol, and also the cycle response team. The cycle response team arrived first, despite being a lot further away than the foot patrol. They requested an ambulance to their location, and this turned out to be quite a protracted incident, as it was unclear whether the casualty had any injury, or was just drunk! Eventually they got him off site, and on his way to the Emergency Department.

We then had the order to stand down, but the last job was to close down control, disconnect all the computers and pack up. Job done, the car arrived to take me home after a very tiring day!

Cheltenham Races, Cycle Response Unit, and The Sun

I had to get out of be as soon as the alarm went at 6.30 this morning, as I was off for the first of my two days at Cheltenham Races, and I was being picked up outside the house at 8.00am. I had to get all my cycle responder kit on, and also pack up my other uniform in case I was needed to do other duties instead. Had time for a piece of toast on the way out the door, and then the car arrived to collect me.

We got to the racecourse in plenty of time before the briefing, and the first job was to check the bikes over. The only issue with my bike was that it was covered in mud, so I volunteered to make a cup of tea, while someone else cleaned it for me !

Cycle response units are a fairly new initiative in Gloucestershire St John Ambulance, but they are really useful resources at large events with big crowds. We can get through traffic jams where ambulances would get delayed, and can carry more kit, and move faster than a foot patrol.

Once the bike checks were completed, we went into the first aid post and listened to the duty briefing, and then with the callsign "Charlie One" we were off on patrol around the North coach park. We watched the steam train arrive at the station, then headed back up the hill to go on standby near control.

After our time on standby, we were sent on patrol of South car park, but decided to take a detour into the "Best Mate" enclosure, to have a chat to one of the ambulance crews. We left our bikes in the charge of some stewards, and went in. Just inside the gates was the big red bus belonging to "The Sun". We went over and managed to get some free beanie hats. They also had a model horse there, which we decided we would sit on for a laugh. While we were sat there, a Sun photographer came out of the bus, and took some photos of us with some "The Sun" girls draped over us ! Its a tough job !

No emergency calls for us all morning, so at 1pm we are sent up to the emergency workers marquee for lunch. It was really nice with soup, stuffed tomatoes and vegetables, followed by fruit. After lunch we went on standby at the first aid post for a while, before resuming our tour of the car parks.

Again we managed not to get any calls, and soon it was time for shift change, so a new crew were on the bikes and I joined a foot patrol team, walking round the crowd areas. Before long we had a call to one of the bars, where a 41 year old man had injured his knee after jumping over a bin! I assessed the injury, and the knee was clearly dislocated, so called for an ambulance to come and transport him to the medical center. There was a bit of confusion on the radio, and somehow there was quite a delay in getting the patient removed from the bar, and it ended up with us pushing him on the trolley to the medical center, rather than via an ambulance. The doctor assessed the patient and decided he would need hospital treatment, so he was loaded into an ambulance and transported off site- this was the only patient I treated during 10 hours on duty.

It was very quiet today with only about 30 patients treated, so this could be the lull before the storm and tomorrow could be really busy.

Library System, Chocolate Cookies, and an Early Finish

I managed to get up on time this morning, so had a leisurely walk to work for the last time this week, as tomorrow and Friday I will be on duty at Cheltenham Festival.

First job is in the main hall, to help sort out a technical issue with connecting a laptop to the data projector. When I get there, I find that there is no power to the Audio Visual cupboard, and nothing is working. I get hold of the site manager and the AV technician on the radio, and between them they find the tripped switch, and get everything working just in time for assembly.

I spent some time in the library this morning, battling with adding the function to export pupil details from SIMS (the school information management system) into the library system. I was on the phone for a while with their technical helpline, who have not managed to solve the problem yet.

I had a nice treat after lunch, when Claire (one of the supply teachers) brought in some home made double chocolate chip cookies- they were very nice!

Next I had a phone call from one of our suppliers to say that the extended warranty for some laptops which they had quoted at £10 each were actually going to cost us £40 each- I was not happy about this, and considering I have just spent £12,000 on laptops with them, they are not getting away with it! I am now waiting for them to call back to let me know what they are going to do about it.

I am finishing early today, as I have to get all my stuff sorted out for the next two days at the races. On Thursday I will be a Cycle Responder- on one of the St John Ambulance mountain bikes, and on Friday I will be in Silver Control, directing all medical resources on the site.

Late Start, RM Tutor, and a Governors Meeting

I got up late this morning, and was rushing around trying to get everything ready to go, when my phone went. It was one of my colleagues Julie, asking if I wanted a lift to work. Good timing! Eventually got myself sorted and out of the door, so arrived at work on time after all.

At school we use a package called RM Tutor to monitor what the students are doing on the computers. It is a good piece of software which lets you do all sorts of funky things, like restricting internet sites, taking control of their keyboard and mouse, and locking their computer when they are supposed to be working. We had a bit of an issue this morning, as a teacher had used RM Tutor during their lesson and locked all keyboards and mice in the room, then left at the end of the lesson without unlocking them again. The next teacher in was unable to do anything about it and I had to run around the school trying to find the teacher to unlock it with their laptop. This wasted about 20 minutes of a lesson.

There was a steady stream of students at the office door up until lunchtime, all requesting password resets or to be logged of other computers- they don't seem to get the idea that when you finish using a computer you need to log off!

At lunchtime I went outside to do my duty, and as I walked out the door, it started to rain. Luckily it was very light, and only lasted a few minutes, but I was glad when the bell went and I could get back into my warm(ish) office.

I spent most of the afternoon copying music from CDs and finalising the ICT Development Plan ready for the Governors meeting this evening.

After work today I went straight into the Finance and Premises Committee meeting, where among other things we discussed my ICT Development Plan. The chairman thanked me for my work and said it was a "comprehensive plan", and some of the points will be brought up at the next meeting. I was pleased with this outcome, as it had taken me ages to put it together!

Walked home in the freezing cold, and since I had got a lift in the morning, I didn't have my coat on. I did get home to a nice warm house, and sat in front of the fire with a coffee to warm up. It's been a long day, so I think I will probably have an early night.

Power Cuts, Macs, and a Pink Mouse

This morning when I got to work I had an email from the supplier of the exploding toner cartridge (see previous posts). They have passed the complaint to their supplier, and are awaiting to see what compensation we will be getting- That should please the admin lady whose shoes were ruined.

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After the first couple of jobs, I had a few minutes spare to do a favour for another admin lady, Arnie, who since she started at the school has wanted a pink mouse for her computer. (don't know why!) so I took an old mouse down to the DT department, spoke nicely to Nina the technician, who gave me a can of pink spraypaint - half an hour and a couple of coats later, we had a nice pink mouse, and a very happy Arnie.

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As soon as I got back to the office, a teacher arrived with a student who had knocked his face against a cupboard. (It wasn't my turn on the first aid rota, but my office was next to the classroom where it happened). His cheek was swollen up, and he was in a bit of pain, so I gave him some ice, and got him to sit in student reception. After about 15 minutes the swelling had gone down, so he went back to class.

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Rob, the art teacher, brought his Mac notebook up to the office next, as the Windows XP installation on the virtual machine software had stopped working. I hate Macs, and sorting this out took the next couple of hours and a lot of trial and error- after that, I like Macs even less!

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During lunch time there was a power cut affecting the whole school, which only lasted less than a minute. As the servers are all on uninteruptable power supplies, there was no lasting impact, but a few people lost the work they were doing when their machines powered off. Quick tour of the school next checking that all network cabinets had come back up properly after the power cut- all was ok.

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At the end of the day, I got home a bit late, to find my wife waiting by the door, ready to take my eldest son to swimming lessons. Luckily dinner had already been prepared, so I only had to put the potatoes on to cook when it was time.

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Baths for all the kids tonight, then we sat down and relaxed in the lounge in front of the fire- Liz is watching Charmed on DVD, and I have been surfing on Facebook and playing online chess!

Mud Glorious Mud!

Early start again this morning, but not due to Libby keeping us awake all night, as she was very good and slept through until 6.30am (see previous post) but because I was on duty with St John Ambulance at a motocross. I picked up my crew mate, Dave, at 8am, and got to the track at about 8.30, just in time to join a massive queue from the gate. This was due to the very muddy conditions on the site, meaning that the competitors support vehicles were all being towed in by tractor. We eventually got to the site of the first aid post, to find that the entire area was covered in thick muddy clay.

As soon as we got on site the first practice started, as we tried to get the 4x4 up to the centre of the track. The farmer who owned the field, told me that we would never get the 4x4 up the hill, and he was right! Even with low range diff lock, the land rover struggled to get up the hill, and started to sink- the clay mud was turning the off road tyres into slicks! After several attempts, and change of route, we eventually got to a vantage point mid way up the hill, and decided to stop there!

The morning passed uneventfully, with the first aid post only dealing with 1 fractured collar bone. This was due to the very muddy course, meaning that the bikes couldn't go very fast, and if they did fall off, there was a very soft landing!

Lunch time next, and as usual, no break in the races, so the first aid staff came off the field and had their lunch 2 at a time. Chips for me, as burger vans don't do much in the way of vegetarian options!

After lunch the conditions were made worse by persistent rain and high winds. The first aid tent nearly blew away, and had to be tied down to a nearby van, and the course had to be altered as the bikes were unable to negotiate some of the track.

Only minor injuries to deal with during the afternoon, but there was some entertainment when one of the first-aiders, Marie, went to take a photo of the bikes, but slipped and fell down in the mud.
The last casualty treated (for a small cut to his knee) told us that the current race was the last one, so when the last bike passed the line, we started packing up the kit, and bringing the crews down from the track. Next thing we know, bikes are coming down from the start- seems like our casualty was not a reliable source of information!

This race was the last one, so as soon as it finished, me and Dave loaded up the vehicle, and headed back to HQ and the jet wash. The 4x4 was so covered in mud, it took us nearly an hour to clean it.

I have been doing motocross duties for the past 12 years, and this was the worst track conditions I have ever seen. Hopefully next time the weather will be better!

Wood chopping, hockey and babysitting.

Early start this morning, as I had plenty of work to do in the garden. Moving a woodbunker, and then sorting and chopping up logs for the fire.

This afternoon I was playing hockey, but our 11th man did not show up, so we only had 10. This was ok until about 10 minutes into the match, when one of my team mates got hit on his hand by a stick, and split his finger open quite badly. After practising my first aid skills, then sending him off to hospital, we resumed the game down to 9 men. Despite a valiant effort, against a full side, we ended up losing 2-3, not bad considering we failed to convert a penalty stroke which would have made a draw.

Had to dash back home after the match as Alex, the heating engineer, was calling to have a look at our combi boiler. No good news from that visit, as we now have it confirmed that our boiler is not working properly, and will need replacing soon.

We are doing a favour for some friends, and are looking after their 5 month old daughter, Libby, overnight. They arrived at about 4pm to drop her off, and so far she has been crying for about 2 hours non-stop! Hopefully she will stop after she has had her bottle, otherwise we will not be getting much sleep tonight.

Nothing else planned for tonight, just a relax in front of the telly, and a fairly early bedtime, as I have to be up for the motocross duty in the morning.

ICT Development Plans and an Exploding Toner Cartridge.

Enjoyed a bracing walk to work this morning, with hard frost on the ground, but nice warm sunshine.

As I walked up the stairs to the office, I get the first enquiry of the day; a teacher wanting to be able to watch a Youtube video in the classroom. (Youtube is filtered in the college, to stop the students accessing inappropriate content). After sorting this one out, I pop along to staff briefing for a cup of tea and a chat.

First couple of hours are fairly insignificant- usual list of students coming to the office for password resets and help with various things, while I am trying to work on the ICT Development Plan.

This is a document which I have spent a lot of time on, putting our aims and objectives for the next three years down on paper (15 pages at last count). I then have to present this to the Governors next Tuesday to try and secure funding- (which is when the ICT Development Plan might get re-written if there is no money available!).


Bit of excitement after break, I am called down to reception for First Aid to see a student who has sneaked out for a cigarette at break time, and now feels sick. I walk into the room to see a student with her head in bin vomiting, while the teacher tries to hold her hair out of the bin. After she has been sick, she immediately feels better. Note to students: At school during break time is not the best place to try your first cigarette!

Issue with an exploding toner cartridge came next- in one of the offices, a very upset admin lady stood covered in yellow toner, after she tried to change the cartridge in her printer. My technician busied himself cleaning up the mess and replacing the cartridge, and I fired off an email to the supplier expressing my disappointment at the quality of their product. Have to wait and see what comes of that.

This evening I went to do some work for a local coach company, who needed some programming work done on their phone system. After a couple of hours battling with an unfamiliar system, with limited information, I eventually got it sorted (and therefore paid). Hopefully I have secured some further work with the company next door as well, so not a bad evening all in all.

On the way home I picked up the 4x4 ambulance from its garage, ready for the motocross duty on Sunday, so I now have a big white landrover parked on the driveway, blocking my view from the window.


Thats it for today, my first day of updating the Blog. Hopefully I will have time to update again tomorrow.

First Post !

Welcome to my Blog. I have been thinking about writing a blog for a little while now, not because I have anything important to say, but because occasionally interesting things do happen that I want to make a note of.

I am an ICT Manager for a school in Gloucestershire, and I volunteer part time with St John Ambulance (hence the Blog title). I am married, and have 3 children.

This Blog will be updated regularly (or more likely rarely) with everyday happenings in my life.